His Mercenary
by DearlyFictitious
Summary: It'd been a year since Nastu left the guild and became a traveling mercenary taking solo jobs; one day he came across a man by the name of Lord Ferro Stone at a bar asking to purchase his services. He agrees and shortly after becomes a 'Nanny' to his young son Lyle. SlightOOC!Natsu Alpha!Natsu. DragonSlayerBonding. Rated T for swearing and slightly dark themes. SPORADIC UPDATES.
1. In My Happy Place

**His Mercenary**

 **I'll just say this: this idea came out of nowhere and hit my unsuspecting muse like a freight train, so this probably won't be too long of a fic, but hey, you came so that's all that matters, I've peaked your interest.**

 **So yeah, there will be a few OCs and Natsu will be kinda OOC but with good reason. The Fairy Tail guild will be featured as well and this storyline takes place shortly after the Grand Magic Games, after that I exercise my creative liscense quite heavily with a timeskip to build up the plot. Also, in this fic, Fairy Tail never disbanded.**

 **As far as pairings go...I suck at writing any sort of romance and I usually don't like reading that genre anyways so THERE ARE NO PAIRINGS AS OF NOW or ever. Sorry NaLu and Gratsu, shippers etc.**

 **However, I will have SlayerBonding because I FRICKIN ADORE DRAGON FAMILY DYNAMICS they will come into play later in the fic, but not by much *wink***

 **I do believe a disclaimer is in order:** **DearlyFictitious** **does not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima sensei, I only own my OCs. I make absolutely no profit from this; it is purely for entertainment purposes.**

Being the only child to the prestigious Stone family was not easy. Oh no. Poor young Lyle Stone was a testament to that statement. He'd been kidnapped and held for ransom more times than any human should ever have been subjected to. Fearing for his 10 year old son's safety, Ferro Argentum Stone sought out protection for the young heir and one day came across a powerful mage with rose colored hair at a bar…

" _I can sense quite a bit of magical power from you young man."_

 _The cloaked figure turned his head lazily; tufts of rose colored hair could be seen peeking from under his hood, "You a mage or something?"_

 _The lilac haired man chuckled good naturedly, "I'm not a very good one I'm afraid. I only know the very basics in fire magic."_

 _This seemed to perk the other's interest, "Fire magic you say?"_

" _Oh yes. Are you practitioner yourself?"_

" _You could say that I'm more than mediocre."_

" _An expert!" he leaned in closer in interest, "Are you a member of a guild then?"_

 _The pinkette seemed to stiffen, "Not anymore."_

" _Ah." the nobleman backed away slowly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."_

" _It's okay. I left for personal reasons."_

" _I see." quickly looking around, he scooted closer and whispered, "So does that mean I can purchase your services?"_

 _The mage paused before answering, "Did you ever place a request in the Fairy Tail guild before?"_

" _To memory I've never posted a request to any guild." As he said this, the cloaked man turned around and he could see his fanged grin. His eyes widened upon seeing his youthful face._

" _I'm Natsu Dragneel, what exactly do you have in mind?"_

 _ **0o~Two years later~o0**_

"Catch me if you can you hags!"

"Young Master you come down here this instant or I will get Salamander to do so for me!" screeched the head maid of the Stone estate.

The lilac haired preteen scoffed and kicked his dirty sock clad feet, "Nice try Marietta. Sal won't do anything right?" he craned his head around the tree and towards his 'Nanny' who was leaning casually against the side of the estate and shrugged in indifference.

Said Nanny was wearing thigh high combat boots over tight fitting white trousers, a black form fitting ¾ sleeve shirt with his signature white scaled scarf, and a smiling blue dragon mask with a gold circle on the forehead. He looked over towards the haggard Marietta and held up a placating palm at her look of dismay.

"He needs to finish his studies!" Her lip curled when she spotted the multiple stains on his person, "He's also in need of a bath."

"Make me!" challenged the boy.

Salamander shook his head at his charge's antics and decided to patrol around the property. Lyle was right; it was his job to insure his safety, not to make sure he wipes his ass.

Two years into his new occupation and he couldn't find a single fault during his time. The pay was great, he had free room and board, and he virtually had no written rules to follow; except for two, the first and most important one stating _Protect Lyle Stone at all costs._

Lyle's Father Ferro was extremely generous when it came to 'providing' for him, he didn't even bat an eyelash when he was presented with his first property damage bill. He just signed away and stated that if it was for his Lyle, no price was too high. The pinkette smiled beneath his mask. Lyle was so lucky to still have a Father who loved him that much, just like Igneel had for him.

He rounded a corner and stared up towards one of the tallest windows. Zeroing in on his target, he bent his legs and sprang into the air and arced gracefully into the luxurious office of his client and good friend.

" _Gah!_ "

"Hey 'Ro how's it going?" he said.

"I was doing quite well before you barged in." he replied testily with a hand on his heart. " _Ahem!_ Did you need something Salamander?"

"Drop the title Ferro, I ended my patrol a minute ago, it's just us."

Leaning back leisurely, Ferro smiled and ran a hand through his tastefully coiffed undercut to allow the lilac strands to fall to his forehead, "How was your day today Natsu?"

Natsu took a moment to observe his friend. He acted way older than he really was. He was a handsome 32 year old man with light lilac hair; his face was carved out quite sharply, defining his striking orange eyes. He looked nearly the same as he had that morning when he greeted him after breakfast.

"Jeez man, have you moved at all today?"

"I'll have you know that I did indeed take three 15min breaks today."

"Only three?"

"It's better than when I only took a 10min break a day."

Natsu shuddered, "You gotta be more lax with yourself, that's what I'm here for remember?"

"I'm the adult figure Natsu and you're here for my son." he exhaled through his nose and cracked a grin, "Though I suppose I can allow myself more recreational time with you around. Your track record certainly proves that I can afford to do so."

Over the years of his employment the amount of kidnappings had lowered a whopping 80%. The other 20% were those foolish enough to try and lay their hands on the Young Master and get their asses... or heads handed to them. Of course since the Stone family operated in polite society, everything Natsu did had to reflect positively towards them since he sometimes did appear publicly with them during social gatherings; though Lord Stone most certainly had the definition of 'positive' stretched rather thin when it came to his Salamander. However, when it concerned the not so nice portion of his job, he had to be ultra discreet and leave no crumbs behind.

Natsu fell into the plush couch, "Like I've been saying since day one. As long as I'm around, you have nothing to fear."

"That may as well be true my friend, but one can never be too cautious."

"Right as usual 'Ro."

Just as they'd lapsed into a comfortable silence a loud snapping sound could be heard and a tell tale exclamation of pain told them what had just happened.

"Good Heavens, what has he done this time?" groaned Lord Ferro. "Natsu be a dear and see if he's intact."

"Yeah, yeah." Natsu chuckled, brushing imaginary crumbs off himself as he stood up and made his way towards the window, "He wasn't too high up so the only thing that'll be bruised is his ego." With that being said he launched himself out the window, landed gracefully on all fours, and made his way towards the scene.

He crossed the courtyard and passed the distressed throng of maids to see the pouting pink face of his charge hanging upside down by his barely intact shorts. He took a hand out of his pocket and flashed him the peace sign.

"How's is hanging Young Master?"

"Shut up Sal!" Lyle thrashed about wildly and squealed, "I think a caterpillar crawled up my shirt!"

"Hey that looks like fun." Salamander climbed up and hung himself upside down next to him, "See, now we look stupid together." Lyle turned beet red and attempted to swat at his Nanny. He was unsurprisingly unsuccessful.

"See Young Master, you could've avoided all of this drama if you had just attended your lessons." said Marietta

"Quiet!"

"How long are we supposed to wait until you free yourself?" she asked, a couple of the maids giggled behind their hands. Their amusement served to raise Lyle's chagrin.

" _Raaaah!_ Watch me!" he shouted. After a few more attempts, he finally stilled. "Help me out here Sal?" he begged rather pitifully.

"Sure kiddo." Salamander kicked away from his position and agilely spun and landed on the balls of his feet. He stood right underneath him with his arms outstretched. "Ready when you are."

"Excuse me?!" squeaked Lyle, his orange eyes widening, "You want me to free fall?"

"Yup."

"I can't." he replied. "I'm too high up."

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do Sal!"

"Then close your eyes if you're scared." Advised Salamander.

Lyle looked incredulously at his Nanny before willing himself to calm down. After a few deep breaths, he covered his face with his hands and a heartbeat later kicked off the tree like Salamander had done just previously.

After what felt like forever to him, the wind had stopped whistling past his ears and a pair of powerful arms caught him. He could smell the comforting scent of sandalwood, spiced rum, and cinnamon on his savior's feverish chest before his other senses returned to him.

"It's okay now, I got you." a velvet voice said above him while their strong calloused fingers gently pried his hands away from his face.

Lyle slowly opened his eyes to the familiar sight of a blue dragon mask.

"Kyaa!"

"So cute!"

"The Young Master and his Salamander!"

"...I ship them."

"Don't be a weirdo about it!"

While the maids were bickering and cooing _—_ read _swooning_ _—_ Salamander calmly made his way towards Marietta. "Is the bath ready?"

"The lad's water has probably gone cold." she sniffed.

"S'okay. I can fix that." he replied. With the Young Master still in his arms, he led them inside the manor and towards the private baths.

After a few minutes of quiet walking, Lyle mumbled, "You can put me down now."

"Yeah, I would but then you might try to make another getaway."

"It's not like I could outrun you. You run really freaking fast." he knew this from experience.

"Ha ha, that's true." Salamander glanced down at his charge's dirty sock clad feet, "I saw how your foot was angled, it's probably a light sprain, but I don't want you to make it worse. The hot water in the bath will soothe it."

"You can tell by just looking?" with a nod of confirmation, he _tsk'd_ and muttered "Show off." underneath his breath, and as per usual, Salamander was somehow able to hear him. The soft vibrations coming from his sternum gave away his light chuckling.

Lyle fisted the fabric of his Nanny's precious scarf. He was majorly embarrassed by today's events but somehow, as always, Salamander was able to make it more bearable. He took a moment to observe his bodyguard's 'face'.

A light blue smiling dragon mask, with a gold circle on his forehead.

For the past two years, Lyle had not once ever seen his face. No matter what he did or how hard he tried, he could never seem to catch him without it on. The only people in the house who knew what he looked like were his Father and Marietta; though she claims she's only seen it once. The only things he could make out was his strong jaw line, his rose pink hair, and the dark olive colored orbs between the closed eye slits of the smiling dragon. How in Earthland did he even see through that anyways?

He remembered back to the first day he was first introduced to him. It was only three days after the latest, and worst kidnapping…

 _Lyle was making his way down the stairs with Marietta holding his hand supportively. He was still a bit shaken up from being locked up for 17 days in a dark cellar. The Duchaine family were a merciless bunch, he really thought he was going to meet his maker on that final night, but in a blinding flash of scorching heat, the guards had dropped dead. With what remaining strength he had, he hauled himself up, trying to ignore the bite of the metal into his flesh and the acrid smell of scorched remains, and looked towards the bars. The last thing he remembered that night was blinking blearily up towards the supposed reaper; a man with a white fanged smile and head of rosey pink hair._

 _Shuddering from the memory, he caught a glimpse of his Father and was about to run towards him until he saw who was standing next to him._

 _A man wearing a blue dragon mask!_

 _He froze in his steps and stared wide eyed at the… pink haired man?_

" _Ah, my dearest Lyle, come here please." called his Father softly. An encouraging prod from Marietta coaxed him to walk towards the two. "I'd like you to meet a new friend of ours. This man here is the one who saved you from that nightmarish place."_

 _He gasped aloud. This man was his savior?_

" _Yes Lyle, it was indeed him. I've negotiated terms with this mage and from this day forth, until his contract termination, he will insure your safety."_

 _Only one word came to mind, "What?" He was frozen to the spot and his Father smiled kindly at him, taking his hand from Marietta's hold._

" _Manners Lyle. Introduce yourself." his Father chided._

 _He blinked and stuttered, "H-hello, my name is Lyle Iridius Stone." he cleared his throat and peered into the slits of the smiling dragon's eyes to find dark olive orbs staring back at him, "What's your name Sir?" He took moment to observe the mercenary. He stood tall with his arms crossed and from what he could tell from his bulging biceps, he was rather well built. His stance was strong and he could practically feel strength emanating from his person._

" _Hello Young Master." he said in a neutral tone, "You can call me Salamander."_

" _Salamander? Like the lizard looking animals?"_

" _Yup."_

 _Lyle's memory flashed back to that night, he looked at him unflinchingly and stated, "You killed those men." He could feel his Father stiffen next to him._

" _Lyle-_

" _Yes." interrupted Salamander, "I did kill them."_

 _The young heir gulped, but held his ground, "How do I know you won't do the same to me? Why should I trust you?" he felt he was quite justified for his trust issues, given the fact that he'd been put through the literal emotional wringer throughout his short 10 years of living. His sense of self preservation was at an all time high._

 _The mage named Salamander didn't respond at first, but steadily got down on one knee and faced him at eye level, "You want me to prove myself." It came out as a fact and not a question, "Lord Stone." he called out to his client.  
"Yes Salamander?" he asked tensely. He'd been watching the exchange with bated breath._

" _Mind handing the Young Master that fancy fountain pen in your pocket?"_

" _Not at all." he slipped said item out of his breast pocket and handed it to his son._

 _Lyle looked confused at the shiny silver pen in his hand and his eyes widened when Salamander loosened his scarf and tilted his head to bare his muscular neck._

" _Go on, mark me. Do whatever you need to do to prove that you can trust me." the other two adults in the were taken aback._

" _Salamander!" exclaimed Marietta._

" _You are taking this matter to the extreme Salamander, I'm sure we can find an alternative." Lord Stone tried to reason. "Lyle, please hand that back to me."_

 _Lyle looked down at the pen-turned-weapon, "No."_

" _Lyle!" the Lord and maid said in unison._

 _The Young Master looked at the exposed bit of flesh, "I need to know." He slowly approached the kneeling man, "I have to know." he would kill this man instantly if he found any trace of a lie. His emotions refused to take anymore abuse._

 _As he came within breathing distance of the mage, the first thing that he noticed was the inhuman amount of heat radiating off of him. There was no way that any human could be that hot and not be bedridden, or dead. Secondly, was that the mage didn't even flinch when the sharp point of the pen pierced his skin by half a centimeter. And lastly, he felt an overwhelming amount of guilt when he saw the corner of his eye crinkle in what was definitely resignation._

 _Lyle dropped the pen in horror, "I-I didn't m-mean-" he stuttered, "I can't- I don't-_ _ **I'm sorry!**_ _" he lunged forward are wrapped his arms around Salamander. He could feel his hot tears soak into the other's shirt and strong arms come around him to return the embrace. A rough hand was rubbing his back in a soothing manner._

" _It's alright."_

" _B-but-!" he couldn't finish his sentence and continued to cry and shake uncontrollably._

 _The mage allowed the boy to cry and collect himself for a minute before he pried them apart; he took hold of his small shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "Listen to me Lyle Iridius Stone." he said, "As long as I'm with you. I will dispose of any persons or beings who want to harm you, even at the cost of my own life."_

 _The boy sniffed, "Promise… promise then that you won't hurt me?" when he voiced the question, everyone in room knew he was referring to a different meaning of hurt._

" _I promise." there was no sound of uncertainty or waver in his voice._

 _Lyle leaned back into his arms and laid his head on the slightly moist muscular shoulder. He breathed in what would become a source of comfort: sandalwood, spiced rum, and cinnamon._

o0• •0o

After warming up the bath with his fire, Salamander unceremoniously plonked his Young Master right into the steamy waters and left to his quarters with the sounds of his undignified squawking fading in the background. His room was located in the private wing of the Masters _—_ right in front of Ferro and Lyle's _—_ so he could bust out and save his charge should any unwanted company try and steal him in the dead of night. He opened the heavy wooden doors and stepped into his humble abode.

It was rather clean thanks to Marietta's neat freak tendencies, so instead of being assaulted by a warzone, you were greeted by a modest sized room furnished with a large plush couch, a medium sized wardrobe, a padded hammock, and numerous trinkets and curios lining the shelves on the walls, the majority of which, were made up of various precious stones and metals.

The Stone family specialized in such items after all.

He smiled to himself as he remembered what Marietta had exclaimed when she saw such items lining his walls. The term 'dragon hoarding' stemmed from the belief that dragons stashed away any and all valuables. Well, Natsu knew firsthand that dragons _did_ indeed love to hoard any item of interest _—_ Igneel's cave was full of the stuff _—_ and that habit extended to the DragonSlayers as well. Other than precious mementos, priceless gems and metals were definitely number two on his list of favorite things to keep around. One of Lyle's favorite hobbies was to go explore one of the many mines his Father owned _,_ with Natsu watching over him like a hawk _,_ and play scavenger hunt collecting interesting raw metals and diamonds. It was just a plus on Natsu's part that every visit led to them bringing home at least of few of said diamonds and metals. He snorted; he probably had enough money with the value of his items alone to buy a small country.

He slipped out of his boots and collapsed in his comfy hammock. He looked out his window and saw the bright full moon make its way through the sky for an hour before deciding to get some shuteye. Standing up, he opened his window and stuck his head outside trying to sniff out any unfamiliar scents or intruders. After concluding the coast to be clear, he closed the window and with a bit of hesitation, undid the clips behind his head and let the blue dragon mask slip from his face.

The first and most important rule stated to _Protect Lyle Stone at all costs_ and the second rule was to _Never reveal your face to anyone while under service of the Stone Family._

Natsu rubbed his face tiredly and sank into his hammock, surrendering his mind to dreamland.

 **Well, done with that! What do you guys think? I'd love to hear your thoughts in a review or PM.**

 **ALSO just so that everyone is aware: UPDATES WILL BE SPORADIC. I can't ever promise when the next chappie will be uploaded. I find that when I do that, the quality of the fic declines and I couldn't bear to do that. We deserve better. Although, if I'm gone for more than 3 months, feel free to send me an ARE YOU ALIVE? PM. lol srsly...**

 **Next chapter will feature two other Slayers! Can you guess who? And yes... there will be DRAGON BONDING**

 _~Loveandhugs from me!_ _ **DF**_


	2. We're on the Road Again

**His Mercenary**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Hey guys,** _ **DF**_ **here!**

 **I wanna thank everyone who Fav/Followed and Reviewed. I always take time to read what you say and it really helps get my muse going. Lol, I swear I heard it say** _ **I'm all fired up now!**_

 **Just so everyone is on the same page:**

 **-** **THERE ARE NO PAIRINGS** **...well, folks like Bisca and Alzack are together 'cuz they're married and already have an** _ **established**_ **relationship. I'm not sorry, no exceptions!**

 **-It's been** **THREE** **years since Natsu left the guild. He met Ferro a year after he left and the story picks up two more years later.**

 **-Why did he leave? Read to find out!**

 **I do believe a disclaimer is in order:** **DearlyFictitious** **does not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima sensei, I only own my OCs. I make absolutely no profit from this; it is purely for entertainment purposes.**

 **Please read the A/N at the end!**

Sat on a pouf drinking his ice cold blueberry lemonade, Lyle watched in fascination as he saw Salamander go through his morning workout. This was routine for him and a handful of maids, they enjoyed observing and seeing him in action. Though, he was appreciative for reasons other than what his maids were thinking of in their dirty minds.

He loved to see the strong arms that protected him flex in action, his taut abdomen contort and contract with sweat glistening down his navel, and the way he sprung in the air like a coiled spring. He was star struck when he would go into his DragonSlayer sequence; Fire Dragon's Claw, Wing Attack, Crushing Fang, Brilliant Flame, and so many more breathtaking moves.

His Sal was amazing!

After finishing a punch combination, the maids went wild and cheered. The mage rolled his eyes at his 'fan club'; he was far too used to their antics to feel embarrassed. He did however feel a sense of pride when he saw the Young Master cheering just as loudly alongside them.

"Ooh! Sal do a Crimson Lotus!" demanded Lyle.

Salamander smiled underneath his mask at the sound of his enthusiasm "A Crimson Lotus move? Not sure if your pops would appreciate it if I blew up his prized yard animals."

"I most certainly wouldn't." came a voice from behind them. They all turned around to see the Lord of the House walking towards them, "My zoo of bush animals wouldn't be the same if some of the lot were decapitated."

"Father!"

"Lord Stone!" The maids arranged themselves in a row and curtsied while Lyle ran to his Father with a big smile on his face.

"You're home! How was your trip? Did you get me anything?"

Ferro smiled at his son and pat his head affectionately, "It was a rough week, what with all that rain, we didn't think we were going to strike anything, but we persevered and found more raw deposits." he reached into his interior breast pocket and pulled out a sealed phial attached to a gold chain with a deep pink gem encased in rock. As soon as Lyle saw it, his eyes grew wide and he was all smiles, "I know how much you love pink diamond, so I got the best of the bunch just for you. The red amongst the pinks." he placed the necklace around his son's neck.

"Thank you Father!" Lyle squealed and hopped up and down in with joy, "Look at this Sal." he called out to his nanny, "It's the same color as your hair!"

Salamander made his way towards them, "Well what do ya know, it is." he faced Lord Stone, placed his right fist on his heart and genuflected briefly in his direction, "Good to see ya home Lord Stone."

"It's good to be home Salamander. How did the house fare under your care?"

The mage shrugged his shoulders, "Meh, same old, same old." he said carelessly while waving a hand in the air, "Doing patrols here, yelling at people there; the usual."

Chuckling at his unrefined mannerisms he turned and addressed the other members of the household, "And how are we doing today?"

A maid with vibrant red hair stepped forward, "All of us are doing quite well today." she cast a hungry glance at Salamander—to which he pointedly ignored—and asked happily, "Would you care for some breakfast Milord? We have Fluffy Fiore Waffles on today's menu."

"Just what I needed, send a full platter to my office with all the fixings."

"Yes Milord!" the maids said in unison and scurried away to prepare his breakfast. Lyle snickered as he watched them run in different directions.

"My son." Ferro addressed his heir.

"Yes Father?"

"How far have you progressed in your Law studies?" An uncustomary sadistic grin made its way onto his face upon seeing his young heir break out into a cold sweat, "I'll take your silence as confidence then? I surely hope so; I'd be most delighted to hear you recite the thirty different ways to avoid a trade dispute between Stella and Fiore."

"Ah haha, yeah...I'll get back to you on that." he said nervously, trying to slowly inch away. Before he could make clean getaway, a firm hand clamped down on his shoulder, making him squeak audibly,

"Be in my office at three young man."

"Yessir!" and with that he dashed towards the library for an impromptu cram session on exporting and importing goods.

Salamander snorted, "And he was really hoping you wouldn't remember that."

"That child I swear." he pinched the bridge of his nose in slight irritation, "I have some orders for you as well."

"Yeah? Wassup?"

"I need to you to escort some goods to the Capital City of Fiore, I need this dropoff to be done with the utmost care and diligence."

Salamander tilted his head in interest, it wasn't often that Ferro sent him that far from the estate; namely Lyle, "That's cool. Whatcha sending over this time?"

"After I look over the terms of the trade papers, I'll be exporting raw sapphire and amethyst to Crocus. Apparently, that is what's going to be trending this season with the young ladies."

"When do you want me to leave?"

"I'd like you to depart soon after you've been bathed and fed."

"You saying I reek?" he asked playfully.

"I didn't want to upset you Salamander, but your stench offends my sense of smell." he bantered right back.

"Well I'd like to hear you say you smell like a basket of flowers after an intense workout! And speaking of workouts _eh heheh_." he chuckled evilly, "When's the last time you've practiced your fire magic?"

Ferro stiffened and started to stroke his cravat; a nervous habit signaling his distress, "I- pardon?" Natsu leaned in closer and he swore the blue dragon's smile turned sinister.

" _Feeeeerrrrroo~_ we haven't trained together in a while _eh heheh_ , we'll start with your quads, then work our way up to your noodle arms." his sweaty and muscular form backed him against a tree, "We wouldn't want you getting rusty now would we?"

Poor Ferro looked like a small cornered animal, "No, we don't. Ah, why don't I get to my office, I don't want my paperwork to pile up now." he tried to move over, but for some odd reason his legs refused to cooperate, "Salamander...not here and now, I just came back from a trip." he pleaded, "My breakfast will get cold."

Natsu, in response, just kept up his unnerving laugh, sending Ferro into a pit of metaphorical despair; he could already hear his muscles screaming obscenities at him.

 _A dragon is about to devour me!_

"It's no wonder Helena and the rest of the girls gossip about the two of you!" boomed a voice from the side. Natsu and Ferro whipped their heads to the source, "Salamander I insist you stop harassing our employer and go take your shower."

Ferro looked ready to praise the gods; they've sent a honey blonde goddess to rescue him from the dragon!

"Aw Marietta you're no fun." pouted Salamander. He moved and started to make his way inside, "I'll see ya before I take off."

Staring at his retreating back, Lord Ferro let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, "Thank goodness that you came Marietta. I don't know what would've happened had you not intervened."

"I can come up with a pretty good guess. I still recall the vivid images of you panting on the ground from doing just eighteen fire sit ups."

"Marietta...never speak of it again."

"I can't promise that Milord, but I can stop speaking about it for the moment."

Lord Stone sighed in defeat, "I suppose that's as good as I'm going to get from you." with that they casually made their way inside. During their peaceful walk to his office, Marietta asked a loaded question.

"Have you told the Young Master of Salamander's impending departure?" as soon as she said this, she heard Lord Stone sigh next to her, "I'll take that as a 'no' then?"

"It's not as though I like sending him off to faraway places; Lyle will get to say his well wishes when the time comes. The errand itself shouldn't take more than a week; he's been away for longer periods in the past."

"But has he ever coped with any of them well?" she grimaced at the look of doom on his face, "Oh dear."

o0• •0o

Natsu groaned audibly and checked the position the sun was in, he let out a loud whoop when he realized that it was just about time to set up camp for the night.

"Hell yeah! About frickin time- _whoa!_ " he quickly had to grab the reigns of the horse he was riding, "Alright I'm sorry, calm down girl." he said while rubbing gentle circles on the side of the horse's neck. Him and one of Ferro's employees had been riding all day nonstop through Bosco, they'd made good time and would be in Crocus tomorrow by noon.

"Yo George, wanna set up camp now?"

A tan, sandy haired man poked his head from the car window, "Fine with me, that'd only leave us about two hours before we reach the border." he turned the wheel and veered into the darker, less traveled part of the path. After a few minutes, they finally settled on a spot with a nice clearing. George stepped out and cracked his spine, "Hoo boy, my back isn't what it used to be." he stared in disbelief at his mask wearing companion running around setting up their camp, "How on Earthland do you have so much energy? And I wasn't even wearing the Self-Energy plug for this vehicle."

Said mage glanced at the bracelet on his wrist and pulled it off, "Well, this isn't actually all that draining to be honest."

"What?!" choked George, "I could maybe wear that for two hours tops before I'd collapse." They'd been on the road for nearly a day and a half at full speed. He shook his head and muttered, "Lord Stone just what kind of monster did you acquire?" his head whipped to the side to the sound of laughter.

Did he hear that?

"Stop putzing around and help me set up camp!"

Just at the sun was finally sinking beneath the horizon, Natsu held out a palm and was prepared to ignite their freshly caught and gutted boar, "Alright Mr. Pig it's roasting time!" but before he could even twitch a finger, the sandy haired man shouted from across the campsite,

"Stop right there!"

The fire mage froze comically, "Huh?"

"You were going to flash cook the beast weren't you?"

"Well duh." he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm starving here."

"Salamander, you need to slow roast this otherwise the flavor will be off!" scolded George.

"But I wanna eat it now." he complained. After a brief stare off he reluctantly relented, "Aaah fine, we'll do it your stupid slow way." and with that he petulantly shot a spark from his foot and set aflame the firewood beneath the boar.

"See? Now was that so hard?"

"Shaddap old man." Natsu spat back. He crossed his arms and moped, at this rate it would take forever to fully cook their dinner!

Just as he was about to settle onto his sleeping bag, he blinked in realization at his window of opportunity, "Hey, I'm going to go patrol for other humans." without giving a chance for George to reply, he sped off into the denser part of the forest. After making sure that he was completely alone and no human was within a few miles of him he climbed up a tall tree and leaned against the trunk. He gave his surroundings one final look over and pulled his communication lacrima armlet off, "Okay, let's see if anyone's home."

 _ **0o~At the Sabertooth Guild~o0**_

Sting Eucliffe groaned in irritation, some god awful ringing sound had woken him up from his much needed rest. Wracking his brains, he put two-and-two together and growled; it was the communication lacrima in the hallway that he was somehow persuaded to buy. He felt Lector stir next to him,

"Sting what's that sound?"

"Just ignore it Lector." he buried his head beneath his fluffy pillow, hoping that the incessant ringing would stop. After three minutes had passed, all hope he had of the noise stopping left him.

"Make it shut up Sting!" whined the maroon colored Exceed.

Sting popped his head from underneath his pillows and hollered, "Rooooogue it's your turn to answer it this time!"

"Screw you, it's your turn!" a very irate Rogue bellowed back.

"I answered it last time dipship."

"Making Lector get it doesn't count."

"So it's okay for Frosch to answer for you then?"

"I was in the shower!"

After a moment of silence Sting snarled and savagely threw off his sheets, "FINE _I'LL_ GET IT!" shoving his furry friend aside, he marched out of his room muttering curses under his breath. If this wasn't important, he'd personally find a way to make this mystery person's life a living hell. Wincing as he approached the brightly lit lacrima sphere, he placed his palm on it and barked, "State your name and business or I'll find you and beat you within an inch of your life."

Light laughter could be heard on the other end of the line, "Grumpy much? And here I thought I'd say hello, but after that display I dunno!"

Sting's demeanor did a complete 180.

He rubbed the remaining sleepiness from his eyes and happily exclaimed, "Natsu!"

"How's it going Sting?"

"Been doing great man." he squinted at the screen, "Where are you? I can barely see your face."

"Gimme one sec..." after a bit of faint rustling and two sharp clicks, he saw two small flames ignite and the Fire DragonSlayer's face came into view, "That better?"

"Yeah, I can see you now." Sting studied his idol's face; it had changed slightly over the last three years. He'd finally lost some of its childish roundness and developed more defined features. His eyes had sharpened and his fangs had elongated slightly. Overall, the passing time worked with him and made him quite handsome now.

"Helloooo Sting you listening?" called Natsu.

Sting blinked, "Huh? Sorry about that. What did you say?"

Natsu smiled widely, "I said I'm gonna be in Crocus for a few days and-

He wasn't able to finish his sentence. As soon as the White DragonSlayer heard the keywords ' **be in Crocus** ', he excitedly picked up the lacrima, barged into Rogue's room, and body slammed into the other slayer, "Rogue wake your ass us now!"

" _Blaaaaauuugh! Sting you son of a-_

"Looky Rogue it's Natsu!"

"What?"

Sting shoved the sphere in his face, "Look!"

After blinking away the dark spots in his vision, Rogue did in fact see the rose haired slayer in the lacrima. He cracked a smile and greeted him warmly, "Hello Natsu, it's been too long."

"Yeah I know."

"So c'mon, tell Rogue what you were saying to me!" squealed Sting.

"Well I was trying to but you didn't let me finish." he chuckled, "Anyways, I'm gonna be in Crocus tomorrow for a few days."

"That's great news."

"Hell yeah it is, I'm so pumped." Sting angled the lacrima towards him, "I can't wait to show you how strong I've gotten."

"Same here, I haven't been slacking off either." he gave his trademark fanged grin, "After I finish some business I'll be available around 5pm, where do you wanna meet up?"

The two slayers looked at each other, "There's that diner that just opened up across the old flower shop downtown." suggested Sting.

"I've been meaning to try that place out. How's about meeting up at HoneyDew's Natsu?" asked Rogue.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you guys there."

"Wait, where are you staying?" asked the blonde.

Natsu tilted his head, "I was gonna either camp out or hunker down at a hotel."

"Why don't you stay here at our place or at the guild?"

"You'd be more than welcome here." agreed Rogue.

"Frosch thinks so too." came the sleepy voice of the green Exceed, his voice startled the other speakers. Yawning widely, he crawled onto Rogue's lap, peered into the lacrima and waved, "Hi Natsu."

Natsu's expression softened at the sight of the half conscious feline, "Hey there Frosch, did we wake you from a good dream?"

"I can't really remember, so I don't think so." he yawned again and rubbed his eye, "Are you really coming?"

"Sure am little guy, but only for a few days."

"Are you gonna visit Happy?"

"...I don't have enough days to do that this time." seeing the downcast expression on Frosch's face he quickly added, "But I'll call you guys up the next time I go visit."

"Really? You promise?"

"Definitely."

"Yay!" Frosch threw his little arms up in the air and cheered.

Rogue looked down fondly at his partner and pat his head, "It's back to bed for you little guy."

"Okay, g'night Rogue." the Exceed sleepily agreed and instantly fell back asleep against Rogue's stomach.

The Shadow DragonSlayer looked back up, "Our offer still stands Natsu. You'll always have a place here with us in the Sabertooth Guild."

Natsu smiled, "I'll think about it."

"Well don't think too hard." joked Sting, "Anyways, how's that 'mission' of yours going?"

"You know I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Aw c'mon, at least give us something to work with." whined the blonde.

"Sting quit acting like a child." scolded Rogue.

"Can you blame me?" scoffed Sting, "Our Alpha is gone for extended periods of time and you're not even a little curious about what he's doing?" he smirked at Rogue's sulk, "My point exactly."

"It's not our place to ask."

"Well I'm asking. Hell, even Cobra brags about seeing him more often than we do, and he's just an Omega; we're Betas for pete's sake!"

"Guys." Natsu's voice cut in, "Enough with the hierarchy stuff."

"Sorry." Sting apologized.

Natsu exhaled tiredly, "It's late, I'll see you guys tomorrow alright?" his words perked up the other two slayers.

"Five and no later."

"See ya Natsu!"

Just before Sting was going to disconnect their call, the Fire DragonSlayer called out, "Hey Sting?"

"Yeah?"

The pinkette's expression was downright devious, "You look really cute when you get jealous~"

Sting blushed and spluttered, "I- I wasn't jealous!"

Rogue decided to add his two cents in, "You were so jealous."

"I was not!"

"Especially when you pout- ah! There you go again." he teased mercilessly.

" _Natsu!_ " Sting squeaked; that fact that his voice decided to crack at that moment didn't help his case either.

The call was ended with Natsu's cackles still ringing in the air.

 **Aaaaand CUT!**

 **I took some time to rewrite some scenes because the flow just didn't feel right; I think I like how they turned out in the end. Another one of the MAJOR CHANGES I made was Minerva being the GuildMaster of Sabertooth instead of Sting. For this plot to work, I need him to be relatively free from obligations and be able to roam around as he pleases. If I've upset you because of that I'M NOT SORRY.**

 **Again, I originally planned this fic to be a short one, but we'll see where we'll go from here on out. Although, I may perhaps post a separate fic of oneshots to accompany this one, just to have some funny scenes, warm fuzzy feels, and whatnot. You can thank** **Svane Vulfbad** **for the inspiration.**

 **{As always, I love hearing your thoughts and it would mean the world to my muse and I if you left a review :3 }**

 **And because I'm feeling generous, here's a treat for you:**

 **OMAKE:**

Sting tiredly opened the doors to the guild with a yawn and muttered, " G'mornin everyone." after getting some half hearted replies, he made his way to where Rogue, Yukino, and the Exceeds were sitting.

"Sup Sting?" his faithful companion cheerfully asked.

"Nothing much Lector."

"We saved you some breakfast." Frosch chirped in hauling a large platter of bacon, eggs, and toast.

"Thanks guys." he sat down and dug in with gusto.

Yukino laughed from across him, "Your table manners sure are something."

"Whatever." he said with a mouthful of toast. He glanced at Rogue reading some mail and turned to Yukino, "Anything in the mail for me?"

"Minerva says you got a letter today."

"From who?"

"A mystery sender." said Minerva from behind them. They turned around to face her, "It doesn't seem dangerous. Here." she flicked the letter at him.

Sting caught it and examined the envelope, "Wonder who this is from." he couldn't catch a scent from it, probably the result of a deodorizer lacrima. He slit it open with a butter knife and unfolded the note.

"What's it say Sting?" asked Lector.

Sting read the contents:

 **Spoke with Natsu the other day, he praised me and saidI was really useful. Wonder what that** **makes you?**

 **BITCH.**

 **-Cobra**

Sting was visibly shaking with rage.

"Uh, you alright there Sting?" Lector asked nervously.

The blonde stood abruptly and tableflipped, "I'M GONNA KILL THAT FUCKER!"

 ***Obnoxious laughter* Ah, the joys of a cocky Omega vs. a jealous Beta XD**

 **~Loveandhugs from me!** _ **DF**_


	3. It Meant Everything to Me

**His Mercenary**

 **Chapter 3**

 **¡Bienvenidos a todos!**

 **So I had some time this weekend to think over how I wanna go about this fic and so far I have most of my plot figured out (this fic was initially** _ **incredibly**_ **impromptu, I had no plot scripted whatsoever) and the story** **will** _ **not**_ **have any ships sailing anytime soon** **! As for the estimated length? That is up for debate.**

 **Also, I wanna give a HUGE thank you for those of you who fav/followed this story :3 But I was a little sad from the lack of feedback.**

 **I do believe a disclaimer is in order:** **DearlyFictitious** **does not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima sensei, I only own my OCs. I make absolutely no profit from this; it is purely for entertainment purposes.**

 **I feel obligated to let you folks know that none of these are beta'd.**

Ferro flipped through his thick stack of papers and gave each sheet a brief look over before signing the final form and sealing the deal. After finishing with a flourish he allowed himself to slouch a bit into his leather chair.

"All done Father?"

Ferro looked towards son who was sitting on his plush couch, "For now at least."

Lyle set down the brain teaser he was working on and walked to his Father's large desk, "Can we have our lunch in the sunroom by the gardens?"

"That sounds like a splendid idea. Why don't you go and let Marietta know of our plans?"

Lyle looked away for a moment, "I, uh, would you mind accompanying me there?"

Ferro expression was a bit strained but he trained it back into neutrality, "I wouldn't mind in the slightest." A small fib, nothing to fret too much over.

Stretching the kinks out of his neck, he went and opened the large ornate doors to the hallway and felt a smaller hand slip into his own. Slightly startled, he looked down to meet a shy smile and tangerine eyes that perfectly mirrored his own.

"Ready."

Lord Stone gave his young heir's hand a small squeeze before proceeding into the hallway.

While Lyle was playfully counting his footsteps, Ferro couldn't help but frown at his son's progress with his separation anxiety. Of course, due to his traumatizing young childhood he couldn't fault him completely, but he had hoped that his overbearing and heavy dependency on Salamander would have reduced to almost nonexistence by now. But alas, he told himself, he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth; compared to how he first responded to the DragonSlayer's absence, he seemed virtually cured. A small part of him did feel elated that his son thought him able enough to protect him, even now that he is crippled.

Ferro looked down at the hand not holding his son's. Even with all the training _—_ or _therapy_ , as Natsu liked to call it _—_ he'd been doing, he could only manage to summon no more than a meager fireball and then to his utter shame, watch it wither and leave him exhausted. He clenched his fist tightly in frustration, he could almost feel the hot wax from his metaphorical wings scorch his back.

"Father, is something the matter?"

Ferro smiled kindly at him, "Nothing you need to worry yourself over."

Needless to say, his words flew right over the boy's head and put him on guard, "M-maybe we should have lunch in the dining room instead?" he whimpered while tightening his hold on the pink and blue pendant around his neck.

Ferro looked down sadly at the boy and ran a hand reassuringly through his locks, "Very well."

o0• •0o

Natsu rubbed his arm where his other armlet was located; earlier today while watching the transaction between George and the customer take place he'd felt the lacrima vibrate and transmit Lyle's feelings.

He was scared.

This was, unfortunately, a normal occurrence and feeling he received via the organic link whenever Ferro sent him away on transportation jobs. It didn't happen as often anymore, thankfully, they were now far apart and few in between. Thinking back on the early days of his assignment, he remembered almost regretting casting the organic link spell on the lacrimas. The first couple of jobs where they were separated had nearly sent him into a paranoid frenzy due to Lyle's constant SOSs, so to rectify that, they'd got together and made up a system of unique distress signals so that he could distinguish an _I'm Scared_ feeling from a _Help Me I'm in Danger!_ It was a massive relief on his part and he no longer had to burst into a scene with flames ablaze on his person (oh that poor delivery man…)

Natsu's thoughts were interrupted when a salesman approached him,

"Will you be going with the dark red one Sir?"

The DragonSlayer eyed the overcoat he was currently trying on, "Yeah, I'm gonna go with this one."

The man beamed, "I had hoped so, you look rather fetching in that." he complimented.

Natsu chuckled, "Trying to butter me up?"

"Perhaps." he replied coyly, "But I told no lies."

"Relax, I like this coat so I'll tip ya good." He pulled the tag off the garment and handed it to the man, "Ring it up."

"Right away Sir!"

He watched as the man nearly skipped to the register and glanced back at his own reflection. He had to admit, that since living the life of luxury, he'd grown a bit accustomed to the finer things, especially clothing. He eyed the well-made overcoat approvingly and ran his fingers down the smooth tailored fabric.

Getting closer to the angled mirrors he touched his face lightly and took a moment to observe it. He felt a bit naked without his signature mask, but this was technically his free time and he currently wasn't guarding anyone so he could finally be without it; besides, he also had to make sure to disassociate himself with the Stone Family when 'off duty' so that no one could put together that Salamander of the Stone Family was in fact the Salamander of Fiore. The people of Stella weren't as familiar with that moniker as they were here in Fiore; he had to keep a certain degree of professionalism after all.

Slinging his bag on his shoulder he tossed a stack a jewels to the salesman, stepped through the threshold, and glanced at his wristwatch, it was nearly four o'clock, so he'd make it to the meeting spot with some time to spare.

Or so he would have if he hadn't crashed into someone else.

He stumbled and nearly landed on his bottom but was caught by his arm by the other person, " _Oof!_ Sorry about that I-

He cut himself off when he caught whiff of a well-known and very familiar scent of osmanthus, petrichor, and rosemary. He stared back at the equally surprised person, their golden eyes widening in shock.

"Natsu?"

The rosette blinked before grinning so hard that he nearly split his lip, "Laxus!" he straightened himself and moved them from the doorway and onto the street, "Well whaddaya know, who knew I'd run into you here." he paused before noticing that he wasn't getting a response from the still wide eyed blonde, "Uh, hello, you alr _iiiaugh!?_ " Without warning, his cheeks were suddenly assaulted by pinching and prodding fingers.

"Is it really you?"

" _Nnngh!_ Ugg cursh iz me, hugg elsh culd I ree? ***** " just as he finally managed to pull his face away, he caught a glimpse of the relieved expression on the Lightning DragonSlayer's face before it disappeared.

"It's been a while Natsu, how've you been?"

He gave a lopsided grin, "Been doing great, how about you and the Thunder Legion? Are they with you?"

"We've been more or less the same, though I had to ditch them right after a job because they were getting clingy again. What brings you here in Crocus?"

"Just some business."

"So, you're still on that long term job huh?" he took note of the quality of Natsu's clothes, "Can't say I blame you, looks like it pays pretty well."

Natsu chuckled, "Sure does, I also have some pretty good benefits and security along with it."

"Is that so, gonna tell me what it is?"

"Nope."

"Ha ha, cheeky brat."

"Hey who're you calling a brat? I come up to your chin now." to prove his point, Natsu closed the distance between them and aligned himself accordingly, "See?"

" _Hmph_ , you're still shorter than me."

"Well 'scuse me for not being a tall as a tree." Natsu deadpanned, "Besides Elfman, you pretty much got anyone on height."

"True." Laxus agreed good naturedly, "Say, can I try something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

Laxus looked around the crowded street before deciding that no one would pay them any attention, "I've been talking to Gajeel and Wendy about some dragon related stuff I apparently missed out on."

Natsu's eyebrows rose in interest, "Yeah?"

"I wanna try something out, so hold still." he bent down slightly and started sniffing the rosette's temple and down around his jawline.

Natsu jumped slightly, not anticipating the sudden action, but quickly realized what the other doing. He tilted his head to the side to give Laxus full access to his neck, "So, what do you smell?"

Laxus came back up and furrowed his brows in concentration, "Hm, I thought you were gonna smell like burning wood or something." he leaned down slightly for another whiff, "You smell like...cloves? No, it's cinnamon, sandalwood, and spiced rum?"

"Yup, that's me." He clapped his hand on the blonde's upper arm, "Looks like you almost got the enhanced sense of smell down."

"Yeah, but it's still probably never going to be anywhere near as good as _your_ schnoz."

"Hm, you missed one more scent, one that humans can't pick up on."

"Really? Which one?" the blonde went behind him and tried sniffing his neck and shoulders, "I can't pick up anythi- wait." He pressed his nose to Natsu's shoulder blade, drawing a few stares in their direction, "This is..." the blonde suddenly couldn't see right and was feeling lightheaded. He felt a pair of hands grasp his forearms in support.

"Sorry 'bout that, you alright?"

Laxus shook his head, "Yeah, I'm fine. Took me off guard is all." He regained his composure and gazed at Natsu in a new light, "So that's what an Alpha smells like."

Natsu smiled ruefully, "It's 'cause I boosted my pheromones just now and you're an Omega that it affects you so much, Betas don't feel it as strongly unless I want them to."

"An Omega huh?" he clicked his tongue in annoyance, "So I guess that makes me one of the bitches."

"Hey, none of that!" He punched Laxus' shoulder, "Forget about whatever Gajeel or anyone else told you about Omegas; just because you are one doesn't mean you're not as important, you're just as much of an equal to anyone else in our Nest. You're classified as an Omega because of your lacrima implant, who knows what you could've been otherwise." he stared right into his eyes, "You're strong Laxus, I know for a fact you could beat tin can and that pervy stripper's ass ten different ways to Sunday. Don't ever let the title of Omega rule over what you want to do, hell, you're the leader of the Thunder Legion for cripes sake!"

Laxus looked at the Fire DragonSlayer in awe, "Natsu."

"What I'm trying to say, is that it makes me really happy that you want to learn more about what it is to be not only a DragonSlayer, but a Dragon." Natsu grinned, "I don't want you to end up leaving just because of what others tell you what they think an Omega should be, or start acting upon their words. I want you to stay and be yourself, as a member of our Nest, I want you to show them who Omega's really are and what they're capable of!"

Laxus face was slightly flushed at all the praise, "Geez, you sure know how to make a guy feel special."

"You bet I do, now c'mon!" he grabbed the crook of Laxus' arm and hauled him down the street.

"So where're we going?"

"I was actually on my way to meet Sting and Rogue, I'm sure they'll be happy to have someone else join the party."

"If you say so." Laxus looked to the back of the pinkette's head in gratitude. Natsu may not have known it, but he laid to rest a long time insecurity of his in a single heartfelt minute.

All his life, Laxus was surrounded by the expectations of others; his father's, the guild's, and the people of Fiore. His father had wanted a perfect weapon of destruction, the guild thought him to be a mindless powerhouse, and the thoughts of the people went two ways, they either wanted to see him surpass his grandfather or wait in glee for him to fall from grace.

Failure was not an option, he was never given the liberty to even consider it a possibility. The thought of anyone imagining him doing so was unbelievably painful.

He remembered the first time he met Natsu, he was a small compacted force of endless energy and light. He was rather bitter about that and was slightly mournful of when the day reality would come and harshly extinguish his light. It wasn't until a week after he joined the guild that he actually got within close proximity to properly observe him. Naturally, he was curious to see what 'true' DragonSlayer was like; he remembered asking him his name when he was suddenly hit with with an overwhelming sense of dread…

 _Man it's loud in here, thought Laxus. He had just stepped back into the guild from a job to find that a new face was fighting with their resident little exhibitionist._

" _Back already Laxus?" the blonde turned to look at his grandfather, "That took longer than I expected from someone of your caliber."_

" _Yeah yeah, I decided to walk back."_

" _Still battling with your motion sickness?"_

" _Don't remind me gramps."_

" _Oh hoh hoh, then you should be glad to know that you aren't the only one to suffer from it anymore."_

" _What?"_

" _You see that young boy over there?" he looked to where the master was gesturing with his staff._

" _You mean pinky?"_

" _That's the one, I found the lad and brought him up last week just before you left on that job request. He just so happens to be a DragonSlayer too, and a fire one to boot."_

 _Laxus whipped his head in shock, "A Fire DragonSlayer? Is he like me or…"_

 _Makarov pinched the end of his moustache, "From what he's told me, he seems to be the real deal. A dragon by the name of 'Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons' raised him since infancy, or so he claims."_

 _Laxus raised an incredulous eyebrow, "King of the Fire Dragons?"_

 _The old man shrugged his shoulders, "It's what he's been saying all week and I feel inclined to believe him unless evidence says otherwise."_

 _The blonde smirked, "Well, let's go have a look now, shall we?"_

" _Play nice Laxus."_

 _Laxus scoffed and approached the small brawl with practised ease, he stuck a foot out to pin down the young IceMake mage._

" _Ow! Get your big foot off me!"_

" _Pipe down birthday suit, I don't have business with you."_

 _"Hey mind your own beeswax! I was kicking that pervy ice princess' butt without your help."_

 _Laxus turned and gave his full attention to the pink haired boy. He was rather short, had small squishy looking cheeks, and huge slanted eyes. He almost couldn't help but want to bully him._

" _What's your name runt?"_

" _What! Who're you calling runt you stupid-!" the pinkette paused in mid-sentence and tilted his head in curiosity, "The heck?"_

" _What?" Laxus asked. Instead of giving a reply, the young Fire DragonSlayer then proceeded to sniff the air around him._

" _Oi Flamebrain." Gray had managed to escape from the older boy's hold with help from Lisanna, "What're ya doing sniffing around like a dog for?"_

" _Haha! More like a puppy if you ask me."_

" _Mira-nee that's not a nice thing to say!" reprimanded Lisanna_

 _Laxus grew annoyed from the constant sniffling, "I asked for your name runt."_

 _The boy stopped sniffing the air and looked Laxus in the eye with a gaze that no kid should've been capable of, "My name is Natsu Dragneel, son of the Mighty Igneel, King of the Fire Dragons." He angled his head and childish curiosity returned to his eyes, "Who're you?"_

 _Laxus edged back slightly, could this brat tell who he was? He was about to answer him when suddenly, his senses went haywire and made him stop dead in his tracks. Something deep inside himself was telling him that the boy in front of him...was...he was irrefutably..._

 _The emotions that ran through him at that moment were unspeakable rage, indignity, and to his utter shame, submissiveness. Who did he think he was? How dare this little upstart make him feel like…!_

" _Name's Laxus, better not fucking forget it whelp." he spit out viciously._

 _He turned around and stormed out of the guild, leaving everyone in the vicinity in a shocked stupor. The only one seemingly unaffected was the pink haired boy himself._

" _What the heck's his problem?"_

He remembered throwing himself into three consecutive weeks of training after that outburst of his. At that time, he didn't know what it was that set him off like that, all he knew was that he had to show Natsu who was boss and prove that he was the strongest DragonSlayer in the guild. Now that he was older and, dare he say it, wiser, he now knew that what he smelled/sensed from Natsu was his Alpha _Dominance_. To think that he had that scent on him at that age was ridiculous.

That day had unknowingly sent him on a warpath of self destruction, he now had to prove himself worthy of not only everyone else's expectations, but as of that moment, his own. To solidify his claim and superiority, he founded the Thunder Legion and declared himself leader, he'd show everyone, _everyone_ that he was in fact the very manifestation of power, especially to the so called Son of the Fire Dragon King.

Laxus came back from his musings and surveyed Natsu. Without even trying, the pinkette had his fellow DragonSlayer's and everyone he's ever came in contact with orbiting around his very being. He was the pillar of strength and hope that drew people in and led them to prosperity. Since the very first day he met him, he knew that he was a born leader, a true Alpha Dragon; and it had intimidated the absolute hell out of him.

A leader, an Alpha, was someone who had unparalleled strength and wisdom, someone who could quell the fears of their people and bring about hope, someone who stayed unwavering along their chosen path and guided their family alongside them, someone who also believed in not only themselves, but in their people as well. Although Natsu wasn't quite at the level of 'unparalleled wisdom' yet, he had every other trait under his belt and so much more.

He laughed to himself when he imagined the look on his past self's face if he'd ever found out that later in life he would come to call and accept the pink haired brat his Alpha. In hindsight, he couldn't help but admit that he possessed none of those traits; he was selfish, rude, and terribly indecisive. He had strength, but none of the heart to back it up. It came to him as a shock _—_ no pun intended _—_ that Natsu of all people would commend him of a job well done at leading the Thunder Legion, but who was he kidding? They functioned more like a single minded group than anything, if all of their decisions were up to him, he was sure they would've been long dead by now.

He pulled his arm from Natsu's grasp and wrapped it around his shoulders, leaning on him slightly. He let his previous words flow through his mind like a soothing balm.

 _'I don't want you to end up leaving just because of what others tell you what they think an Omega should be, or start acting upon their words. I want you to stay and be yourself, as a member of our Nest, I want you to show them who Omega's really are and what they're capable of!'_

Resting his head atop of his Alpha's, he murmured to himself, "Thanks Natsu."

"Hm, for what?"

Laxus wanted to slap himself on the forehead, he forgot that Natsu had super sensitive ears, "Nothing."

"You sure?" his dark olive eyes seemed to look into his very soul.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He took a moment to take in the scent that was uniquely his and came to the realization that he'd missed him more than he thought possible. He frowned to himself and thought mournfully back to the days leading up to Natsu leaving the guild. If only he could've done something, _anything_ , to prevent-

 _ **Growl~**_

At that moment, his stomach decided to remind him why he'd wandered in this part of town in the first place.

Laxus groaned and tightened his hold on the other Slayer, "Say, is there gonna be food at this little get together?"

"Haha, yeah, we were gonna meet up at this new diner that just opened up, it's called Honeydew's."

"I think I passed that place the other day, I heard that they serve some killer mouthwatering lasagna there."

"Lasagna!? What are we waiting for? Let's go!" and with that Natsu hauled an openly laughing Laxus to their destination.

 **Whew! I think I'm gonna end it here for today, they can meet up with Sting and Rogue in the next chappie.**

 **I actually wasn't planning to have Laxus show up in Crocus at all, but something told me that he needed to be there. Meh, it's no skin off my nose, I only need to change the plot just slightly to fit him in this early. Whatevs :D**

 **I do have to admit that Laxus is in fact my second favorite character in all of Fairy Tail and I'm a bit biased, but I couldn't help but want to develop more of his character here. I adored the way he took Makarov's words to heart right before he was exiled. He went from being a total douchebag to a more mellow and likeable guy! The chance to delve deeper into that character was irresistible! I really hope you guys like the way I fleshed him out here.**

 **I do however have a small favor to ask of you lovely readers. I wish for some reviews telling me what you think of the overall plot/characters/developments so far. You fellow writers out there know of the importance of interactive feedback. I'd like to know how my writing style is and if I need to make any adjustments so that the fic is easier to read and follow.**

 **I mean, it would totally suck balls if you couldn't understand a damn word I was writing.**

 **Gajeel's Translation Time** **:**

 *** Of course it's me, who else could I be?**

 **Do you guys like the Omakes? They're fun to write and I wanted to know if you enjoyed them too.**

 **~Loveandhugs from me!** _ **DF**_


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